Life Beyond Fife

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Fitness

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Technique is key

There is no new lesson in this chapter, merely a reiteration of two previously made points. In the beginning your body will still progress even if you lift incorrectly. Some lifters in your gym will likely be using poor technique. This lesson cannot be stressed enough: good technique is of the most paramount importance. As we've just covered, lifts should be done with good form which means finding out what good form is. I have seen stronger lifters than myself in the gym resting the bar on the wrong part of their traps when squatting, and doing the most lazy...

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Compound lifts

The key to strength is in making compound lifts the basis of your training routine. Let's break the term down. A lift is a strength exercise where you move a heavy weight from a stationary position to an elevated position, and back again. A compound lift is one which incorporates multiple different movements. For example, a classic example of a simple lift is a bicep curl: a dumbbell is held in the hand with the weight resting stationary at the side of the body with arm perfectly straight; the lift comes from bending the elbow so the forearm moves toward...

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Why getting strong is hard – Part III

I remember growing up when I had some small dumbbells around the house. They might have been 5kg or even 10kg dumbbells, the memory is hazy. I think they were originally my mum's. I went to boxing training for a few weeks at university, and as part of a college football squad I had a routine of some body weight exercises: press ups, sit ups, planks etc. From all that I thought I knew some good exercises to increase my strength. There's such a difference between exercising at home or in a park, compared to going to a gym with...

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Why getting strong is hard – Part II

Before you take a single decision in how you're going to train for becoming strong, you need to understand the difference between free weights and fixed resistance machines. And you need to run a mile away from the latter. You've likely never heard of Arthur Jones) but you will be aware of the effect he's had on the fitness industry. Walk into any gym in any town or city and you will expect to see an array of bulky, expensive mechanical contraptions that a human can insert themself into to perform a specific, restricted body movement. Arthur Jones invented the...

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Why getting strong is hard – Part I

Choosing to concentrate on strength training is a solid decision. But it's a hard one because for most people it's not like anything they've done before. Even for those familiar with press-ups (body weight exercises) or dumbbell curls, you have to open your mind to many new lessons, and unlearn or defend against incorrect ways of exercising. These next few posts will highlight traps it's easy to fall into when learning and training to become stronger. At present I'm an intermediate weightlifter. This is where I'll always be – I don't have the time nor inclination to become seriously strong....

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Food

The food that you eat, which fuels your exercise and aids your recovery, is every bit as important as the training routine you execute. As well as being just as important, the subject is just as big. The advice I give on food, however, will be limited just to this single post. Eat 1-2 grams of protein per kilogram of weight per day when strength training. Some say 1g per kg, some say 1g per lb (pound). Regardless of how much you eat, most people who aren't used to building muscle do not typically eat enough protein. There are many...

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